Two sources familiar with the situation contend that Ireland's question was nothing more than the logical follow-up to comments Bryant had made about his family. According to the sources, Ireland began the meeting by asking Bryant, 21, about his upbringing and his relationship with his siblings. Then he asked what Bryant's father did for a living when Bryant was growing up. The following exchange allegedly ensued:"My dad was a pimp.""What did your mom do [for a living]?""She worked for my dad.""Your mom was a prostitute?""No, she wasn't a prostitute."

It's gotten to the point of where does it really matter anymore? The truth is probably somewhere in the middle in all honesty.

EITHER WAY, Ireland shouldn't have asked it. Whether he asked it on his own. Or if Dez led him into an obvious question. YOU JUST DON"T ASK IT!

Ireland appologized. Dez accepted. Ireland shouldn't be fired over this. Maybe the NFL steps in now and puts some rules on what kind of questions can be asked by teams in the future even if the player leads them into something obvious. And thats fine and the NFL can set up some rules, but America needs to move on as this non-story is really snowballing (as I said it would the other day) at a rapid pace but since there will be no repercussion out of it, then we are at the "who cares" part I think in many people opinion.

Oh well...slow news cycle in the NFL this time of year anyway. Media needs to talk about something

I sent a e-mail to Mike and Mike in the morning,and it said this " I'am a long time Dolphin fan have saying that,it's up to the person who you're talking to and how they take it out of context. You can ask that question with a smile on your face or not. It wont matter, if the preson who you're speaking to fealls that it is wrong than it is wrong, end of it. We all have been in a convo were we ment no ill will,but if the other person is bothered by it then,we are in the wrong and didn't mean it. So lets lay of the FO.......oh and by the way I'm black and race has nothing to do with the question.

also a little known factis Dez's agent Eugene Parker is very close friends with Bill Parcells. Very close. So I don't think any disrespect was intended. And it also lends me to believe maybe the Fins story of Ireleand being led into an obvious question is the truth

Even in the no-holds-barred world of the NFL, where a head coach can get a free pass after using the female pronoun her to describe a male player, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland took a moon leap out of bounds when he asked Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant during a pre-draft interview if the player's mother used to be a prostitute.

Or did he?

Two sources familiar with the situation contend that Ireland's question was nothing more than the logical follow-up to comments Bryant had made about his family. According to the sources, Ireland began the meeting by asking Bryant, 21, about his upbringing and his relationship with his siblings. Then he asked what Bryant's father did for a living when Bryant was growing up. The following exchange allegedly ensued:

"My dad was a pimp."

"What did your mom do [for a living]?"

"She worked for my dad."

"Your mom was a prostitute?"

"No, she wasn't a prostitute."

Ireland apologized Tuesday for asking what has been described as a classless, offensive and potentially illegal question. But if the incident went down as described by two members of the Dolphins organization, Bryant should be the next to repent because there was no need for this story to go from a controlled burn to a raging wildfire.

Ireland simply connected the dots given to him by Bryant. Could he have been more tactful with his question? Absolutely. He could have gotten around the controversy by asking: What type of work did your mother do for your father? But Bryant also could have been clearer with his message. The anger and outrage he expressed to Yahoo! Sports over the incident has as much to do with the word picture he painted as it does with Ireland's conclusion.

Bryant could not be reached for comment, and his agent, Eugene Parker, did not return a phone message. As for the Dolphins, majority owner Stephen Ross said he will investigate the 40-year-old Ireland's handling of the interview process. But you can best believe that if it had gone down the way Bryant has led some to believe, get-tough commissioner Roger Goodell would be out front protecting the integrity of the shield. Instead, his office has said the Dolphins are handling the matter.

"Jeff Ireland is a classy, classy kid," said one GM, speaking on the condition his name not be used. "Do I think he made a mistake asking that question? Yeah. Even if I knew it was true, I could never ask a kid that. But I have to tell you that the story going hard around the Combine -- and everybody heard it whether it was true or not -- was that his mother was a prostitute and his father was her pimp. That doesn't make it right, but that stuff was out there."

Teams spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on background checks on prospective draft choices, particularly those who could go high in the first round. Bryant was red-flagged by multiple teams because of what they described as a "shaky" family situation -- his mother, Angela, served 18 months for selling crack cocaine -- his anger issues as a youngster and his habitual tardiness. He also was suspended by the NCAA for all but three games last season for lying about his relationship with former NFL great Deion Sanders.

Did Ireland know about Bryant's background before he asked the question about Bryant's mother? He should have. If he didn't, he or the team's private investigators and college scouts should be dismissed immediately. So why even go there? Some believe he may have wanted to see whether Bryant would answer honestly. Or perhaps he wanted to gauge the player's reaction to an incendiary question. Only Ireland and the Dolphins know, and the GM couldn't be reached for comment.

One thing that cannot be disputed, however, is that Ireland was hired by Bill Parcells, a man who was notorious for pushing players' buttons during his 19-year head-coaching career. While with the Patriots he went so far as to refer to wideout Terry Glenn as "she" during a media session. It would be foolish to think that Parcells had no input in the line of questioning. As another GM pointed out, teams generally go over their questions before bringing in a prospect to make sure they're on the same page.

"This kid may have led the league in [pre-draft] visits," one GM said of Bryant. "He was pounded by clubs. But I haven't heard about anybody else asking the type of question about the mother that the Dolphins did, so that tells you that no one else felt comfortable about going that road. You hear about all types of crazy questions being asked, but this is really the first time where there was something as insensitive as this. I'm sure Jeff wasn't the only one in the room. I wish somebody else had said, 'You know what? We don't need to go there.' "

But what if Bryant took them there? I would have connected the dots in the same way that Ireland did based on what Bryant allegedly said. Bottom line: There's a major difference between asking a logical follow-up and knowingly wrapping an insensitive and incendiary accusation in the form of a question. Ireland, I believe, asked a logical follow-up question that was coated with neither malice nor prejudice.

Yet, everyone that has no clue as to what was really said, took the kids word that he asked it out the blue. Yeah well, there is always two sides to every story, and if this is the truth, then you are correct, a lot of people need to apologize to Ireland, including ALL OF ESPN.

This also makes me think what a complete A-hole Dez Bryant is. He left Jeff Ireland twisting in the wind instead of correcting how the conversation took place. It could have cost Jeff Ireland his job!!!!

If Dez was so disrespected and was a man and not a coward, why not put Ireland on the spot right then and there and tell him he is out of line. Why is it that Bryant waited until after the draft to even mention it. To me Bryant is a sissy and I am so glad we decided to trade for Marshall instead of draft a sensitive coward. What would of happened if the Dolphins would have drafted Dez? Would Dez have brought it up at all?

I don't think what Ireland asked was right and I don't condone it but it makes way more sense if he asked because he found out his dad was a pimp and so forth. If Bryant does deny it, how would they even know that his father is a pimp?

Should this be true, what the heck does his mom do? Dad is a pimp, mom works for dad=mom not a prostitute? Did she do his pimp paper work?

I agree it is the logical next question when you say Dad is a pimp and Mom works for Dad! I also fault that jackass writer for yahoo sports who completely twisted this question out of context to make it seem like they just sat down for an interview and Jeff Ireland is asking questions about whether his mom is a hooker.

Should this be true, what the heck does his mom do? Dad is a pimp, mom works for dad=mom not a prostitute? Did she do his pimp paper work?

I agree it is the logical next question when you say Dad is a pimp and Mom works for Dad! I also fault that jackass writer for yahoo sports who completely twisted this question out of context to make it seem like they just sat down for an interview and Jeff Ireland is asking questions about whether his mom is a hooker.

LOL.....yeah and pick up his pimp hats form the cleaners,and clean his gator skinned shoes....lol what a joke.